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Teslas are 100% about cost-cutting. Flimsy, cheap, uncomfortable - but they do make those goofy spaceship noises! The lack of normal knobs, buttons, and stalks
by anon373839 2y ago
Teslas are 100% about cost-cutting. Flimsy, cheap, uncomfortable - but they do make those goofy spaceship noises! The lack of normal knobs, buttons, and stalks is just more of the cost-cutting.
It baffles me that they were ever considered “luxury” cars except as to price.
- api 2y agoTesla's claim to fame was being the longest range fastest EVs. They were pioneers in this era. Then they started investing in weird niche vehicles like the Cybertruck and dubious AI stuff instead of improving their regular cars, and the rest of the auto industry caught up with EVs. Not surprisingly, companies that have been making cars forever are pretty good at making cars. Cars have always been a very competitive market, so you didn't have the kind of absolute stagnation you see in some other industries. Tesla just gave them a kick in the butt to make electric cars.
- anon373839 2y ago> Tesla's claim to fame was being the longest range fastest EVs That's true, and they are insanely fast. But I will never forget when the Model S was released and was competing against flagships like the 7 series and S class. When I tried one out, my overwhelming first impression was: this is it? And that was 2012. And it's still basically the same car!
- api 2y agoI've heard it described as the most advanced drive train in the world with the body of a 1990s Kia on top.
- avalys 2y agoThe interior of the Model S was, and remains, appallingly cheap. It felt like a 1990s Chrysler minivan with all the buttons removed.
- tw04 2y agoIt’s actually gone backwards since then. They removed things like the rain sensor for the automatic wipers, and turn signal and drive stalks. To improve the car? Nope, to cut dollars off the cost of a car that can hit six figures in price.
- amluto 2y agoI think the removal of the drive stalk added cost. AIUI, it turns out that the ability to select drive vs reverse is considered safety critical, so it has to work even if the infotainment system is not operational. This involves something along the lines of a dual-port touch sensor so that an independent, higher-reliability system can detect the gesture to change direction, and the hardware for that is not free. And the “gear shift” stalk was simple and cheap. I haven’t tried it in an appropriate model Tesla, but I suspect you can trigger an infotainment reboot using whatever the current button press combination is, and then, before it finishes rebooting, select drive or reverse by swiping the left edge of the screen, and it will work. Score one for car regulations doing the right thing? Maybe, but this all misses the mark, because how many people will know to do the ridiculous swipe on an invisible target when the need to get out of the way of an emergency vehicle and their infotainment system isn’t working. (I don’t know about newer Teslas, but infotainment glitches on older models are common.)
- pests 2y agoI believe there are semi-hidden PRND buttons in the headliner behind/around the rear view mirror for the stalkless Tesla.
- laserlight 2y ago> Model S was released and was competing against flagships like the 7 series and S class That was Tesla's sales pitch. Model S was no competitor for Mercedes-Benz S-Class. It competed against the E-Class.
- dboreham 2y ago> Then they started...<doing stuff Elon thought was a good idea>
- api 2y agoElon has the wealth and success induced variant of Nobel disease: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_disease https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_disease Success is self limiting. It makes people start to engage in magical thinking about their own abilities and vision.
- dzhiurgis 2y ago[flagged]
- eitland 2y agoPeople still choose to drive around in 20 or 30 year old Toyotas. If price and fuel wasn't a consideration (diesel cars and fuel have crazy taxes around here) I'd end with Toyota 10/10 times.
- amluto 2y agoIn PG&E territory, an old Prius maybe gets 40mpg, and gas costs $4.90/gallon, giving $0.123/mi. The current Model 3 seems to use about 25kWh/100mi. The off-peak rate (PG&E EV2-A) is 31c/kWh, giving $0.078/mi. Tesla is winning, but not by a ton. Supercharging seems to be a bit more expensive than home charging. Gasoline is less expensive outside California. Electricity is much less expensive outside of the investor-owned utility territories. Heck, Palo Alto (not exactly a low cost area) only charges $0.21c/kWh.
- eitland 2y agoMy previous car was diesel powered and used 0,6l/10 km. Where I live in Norway, this morning diesel is around $1.85 / l (so around $7 / gallon) and that is on the cheaper side since the pandemic ended.
- dzhiurgis 2y agoAnd some people choose amish buggy, doesn't mean it's shmik... And don't even get me on driving a petrol/diesel.
- bdangubic 2y agoI own two Teslas and they are great! But definitely not premium. you are paying for brand, they are “premium” only because people have been willing to pay high price for a brand. car itself is as far for premium as it gets compared to other actual premium cars in the same price range
- 2y ago
- mv4 2y agoI own a Tesla and I've never considered it a luxury car. It's a high-tech car.
- toynbee_cunt 2y ago[dead]
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- DecentShoes 2y agoI love my Model 3 but the lack of a rain sensor is just dumb cost cutting
- pests 2y agoI always joke about that to my buddy when I'm driving in his M3. Be the sunniest nicest day out, the wipers will randomly turn on going crazy.
- 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y agoMy gas car turns on the wipers sometimes when the sun shines on the sensor just right. Like a photic sneeze. Of course it cost about a quarter of a new Tesla
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- tyfon 2y agoI call them sunwipers. Funnily this happens only in my model 3, not my X (I bought them before Elon went crazy). Both have automatic wipers on.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- silon42 2y agoforget sensor, a normal wiper lever would do
- karlgkk 2y agoModel S is a luxury car. Model 3 is a luxury car to people who think Hyundais are nice.
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y agoHyundai has come a long, long way, over the years. They are now quite nice. The Genesis boutique brand is excellent.
- karlgkk 2y agolol
- fransje26 2y ago> Model S is a luxury car Nothing spells out "luxury" better than misadjusted panel gaps..
- jajko 2y agoLuxury? Where the people live? Luxury looks and feels and costs and drives differently. Tesla is upper middle class (model S) or lower, just with potentially more horsepower in some models. It has great straight line performance and thats about it, but then ie dragsters should be in ultra-luxury class by that logic.